State law allows nonprofits to pay for journeys, giving power brokers another way to inject money into politicsState law permits excursion

SACRAMENTO A number of San Diego County lawmakers were treated to all-expense-paid treks to Hawaii, Mexico, Israel and Italy last year.

The trips, bundled with meetings and plant tours, were sponsored by nonprofits that receive contributions from Capitol power brokers with a stake in the budget and legislation.

Those include corporations, utilities, labor unions and environmentalists. Often representatives of those contributors join the excursion, giving them access to lawmakers.

California Common Cause, a good-government group, has long lobbied for tightening gift-giving rules and providing full disclosure of who is contributing how much to the nonprofit group listed as the trip’s sponsor.

“This is another way to get money into politics,” said Phillip Ung, policy director of California Common Cause.

State law sets caps on the value of gifts. But travel, if provided by a nonprofit, can be accepted without penalty as long as lawmakers participate in a meaningful way — by giving a speech or sitting on a panel, for example, Ung said.

“There are a whole host of loopholes in the travel gift rules,” he said. “All you needed to do is sit on a panel and say something,” Ung said.

Following is a look at where local lawmakers went in 2011 and the cost as reported to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission:

• Sen. Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa

Anderson reported accepting four trips to Washington, D.C., totaling $4,878, from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a coalition of state lawmakers dedicated to limited government and free markets.

The quarterly seminars are with academic experts addressing “critical issues facing the states,” said Anderson, who is California’s president on the council.

• Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego

Atkins took a $5,866 trip to Israel in mid-December sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.

There she and other lawmakers met with leaders on homeland security and Iran — issues that “have a critical impact upon our very large military community in California.”

They also toured alternative-energy and desalination plants.

“Solar energy and addressing California’s water shortage are of critical importance ... and the opportunity to see how those challenges are successfully addressed in Israel was very valuable,” Atkins said.

• Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego

Block accepted a $10,735 Italy trip in late October and early November, sponsored by the California Foundation on the Environment and Economy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit made up of oil companies, utilities and environmental groups. The trip included plant tours and meetings on energy issues, from solar power to smart meters.

Block then took a $3,883 trip to Israel sponsored by Faith2Green, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit made up of faith-based organizations interested in environmental issues.

“These are not special-interest groups,” Block said of his tour that focused on water-saving technologies. “They don’t have a lot vested in legislation.”

Block also participated in weekend conferences in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley tallying a combined $1,282. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce picked up the $300 tab for some meals at a Washington conference in mid-September.

• Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego

Fletcher accepted a September trip to Mexico City valued at $1,576. The Council of State Governments — West, a nonprofit collaboration among legislatures in western states, sponsored the trip.

Spokeswoman Amy Thoma said the mission was to “strengthen economic and cultural ties ... San Diego’s position as a border city makes it the ideal place to partner with Mexico in order to create jobs and increase trade.”

• Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego

Hueso also went on the Mexico City trip to discuss security, speeding up border crossings and trade. Hueso said they also lobbied to help ease trade restrictions on California wine products.

“We barely slept on this trip,” he said, outlining the agenda.

He listed the value at $2,239.

Hueso also made a couple of speeches in San Francisco, where his combined $1,308 in expenses was picked up by the California Foundation on the Environment and Economy. An environmental law conference at Yosemite covered his $395 expense.

• Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore

Jeffries reported that the Vehicle Parts Manufacturing Association provided $380 for a hotel room as part of a conference in Washington, D.C., in early November.

• Assemblyman Brian Jones, R-Santee

Jones went to Hawaii for a week in mid-November. The $2,415 trip was courtesy of the California Independent Voter Project, a San Diego nonprofit with funding from oil companies, utilities, pharmaceutical companies and a cigarette maker.

“The voters in California have said over and over again they wish the building would operate in a more bipartisan manner. That’s all based on relationships. Those relationships don’t happen overnight. They require trust,” Jones said in explaining why he went to the bipartisan gathering.

Jones also went on a $145 overnight trip to the Yreka area sponsored by the Klamath Alliance for Resources and Environment, a coalition of timber interests in Yreka.

• Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego

Kehoe reported a $712 gift from the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs as part of a trip to that country in early November. The Senate delegation discussed energy security, environmental protection, trade and education issues, her staff reported. Kehoe paid her own airfare.

• Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego

Vargas accepted a $219 gift of lodging and meals from the California Independent Petroleum Association as part of a symposium in late November.

• Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Lake Forest

Walters reported a $416 gift from the California Foundation on the Environment and Economy for an early March weekend water conference.